1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improved brightness control apparatus of a light bulb module, and more particularly to a brightness control apparatus that overcomes the shortcomings of a conventional control circuit by adding a signal receiving device and a failure protection device to the existing control circuit. The invention not only complies with the requirements of a product having a remote control light bulb module and maintains an even brightness for each light bulb of the light bulb module according to the brightness of the light bulb module adjusted by the remote control signal, but also keeps the total power consumption of the light bulb module in compliance with local laws and regulations for a total normal rated power of an illumination equipment.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, the issue of global energy crisis becomes increasingly serious, and countries propose different energy saving regulations and laws to cope with the insufficient supply to the demand of electric power. At present, the United States establishes related laws and regulations to limit the total normal rated power for indoor illumination equipments and request manufacturers to install a normal rated power breaker before shipping the illumination equipments to the market in order to maintain the total power consumption of the illumination equipments at a standard below the total normal rated power required by the government.
To comply with the foregoing requirements, related manufacturers have developed a brightness control apparatus for a light bulb module as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,301,290B1 that uses a microcontroller to determine whether or not an illumination equipment exceeds the total normal rated power of 190 W, and a breaker to disconnect the power of the control apparatus if the control circuit exceeds the normal rated power. If one of the control circuits in accordance with the aforementioned patented invention is burned, the whole illumination equipment cannot be used anymore. Users will find such application very inconvenient, or even dangerous if the breaker disconnects the illumination equipment during nighttime.
Therefore, it is an important subject for manufacturers and designers in the related industry to develop a circuit design capable of complying with the requirements of the laws and requirements and controlling an even brightness of each light bulb module while maintaining the existing function of a protection circuit.